I was downstairs in the basement watching TV and browsing on the computer.One beagle was sleeping on his bean bag. The other was on her chair. They both stuck their noses in the air and loudly sniffed. They took off up the steps howling. They went out the door, through the breezeway, out to the garden. They chased a brown rabbit out of my garden. Rabbits must really reek.
Beagles were bred to track hares and rabbits and, even by dog standards, have an excellent sense of smell.
Yes, Beagles tend to be dumb as they come but if you ever decide place an add in the newspaper for “Expert Rabbit Chaser Needed ASAP”, I would personally discriminate among all the applicants and just go with the one that looks most like Snoopy. They are born knowing how to chase a rabbit.
Beagles are as smart as they need to be. These are my 4th and 5th beagles. Quincy was flat out the smartest dog I ever saw. I have had shepherds, huskies, collies, and mixes. The two I have now, Winston and Nordberg are quite different. Nord is pretty smart, Winston is not so smart but he relies on cute. It works well for him.
They were tracking a rabbit in the park a few weeks ago. They had their noses on the ground running back and forth tracing every step it took. If they had bothered to look up they would have seen the rabbit sitting there watching them from about 30 yards away. But they were tracking and oblivious to anything but scent.
I love Beagle stories - my BFF Boomer and I have been together for over 18 years. He has a terrific sense of smell - about the only sense he has left - but he has never shown much interest in rabbits. Maybe it’s an early training thing.
Hey! You probably don’t smell so good yourself mate 